When Kolyat reported to work the next morning, Bailey sent him a message to report to his office first thing. Kolyat was sure it had something to do with Hama, but he didn't think he'd done anything wrong. Bailey hadn't said anything to him the night before, so what had happened overnight?
"Well, kid, looks like you caught the attention of some important people," Bailey told him.
Kolyat was suddenly worried. "What did I do?"
"Went and got yourself reassigned, for one thing," Bailey groused. "Just when I start getting ya trained up, they go and transfer you. Oh well, it's only a temporary assignment. Hope you shined your shoes this morning. You're going up to the Presidium again, hanar ambassador's office. You're to report to Milar Strychae. Says she's the hanar's diplomatic attaché, whatever the hell that means."
Kolyat looked at Bailey in stunned surprise. "Why me?"
"Hell if I know, kid. Best guess is because you're a drell. You're certainly not experienced enough for what they're normally looking for. Now go on. You're supposed to report by oh nine hundred, and that gives you just enough time to catch a taxi upside." Kolyat walked slowly away, listening to Bailey grumbling as he sorted through stacks of data pads on his desk.
His mind was going a million miles a minute. Obviously, his being a drell was part of it, but was it also because of his family? Hama said something about his father being important because of his connection to Commander Shepard. He supposed he owed Shepard his gratitude for keeping him out of jail, but his pride was still sore about how the human surprised him so easily and then was privy to the conversation between him and his father. But then again, his father had probably already told Shepard all about their pathetic past.
Even when he reached the hanar ambassador's suite, he couldn't still his thoughts. The receptionist directed him to Milar's office, and he was admitted immediately. "Good morning, Sere Krios," Milar greeted him. "Please, have a seat."
Kolyat looked around. The office was sumptuously furnished in soothing colors of tan, green and lavender that reminded him of the oceans of Kahje. Milar's desk was made of ragalh wood, a rarity on the mostly-ocean world of Kahje. It spoke to her prestige and power in the diplomatic world. Milar was dressed in a heavy synth silk suit in a dark green that suited her coloring. Kolyat sat down cautiously in one of the two chairs facing Milar's desk. "Please, Sera, just call me Officer Krios. Sere reminds me too much of my father."
"If you wish, Officer. It is you I wish to discuss, not your father, however." She leaned back in her chair and considered Kolyat. "My daughter is not as accomplished a liar as she thinks she is. I know why you were summoned to the Presidium last night, and I thank you and Captain Bailey for your discretion in handling the matter."
Kolyat managed to keep from showing his surprise and waited for Milar to continue.
"I'm sure Captain Bailey has already told you that I've requested you be reassigned to our office for a week. What he didn't tell you, because I didn't tell him, is that this is to be a trial period, and if everyone is agreeable, at the end, you will be permanently transferred to the security staff for the hanar ambassador's office. Yes, I know you're new." She waved away his objection before he could do more than open his mouth. "I also know why you joined C-sec. I can't say I approve of your previous career choice, especially considering your complete lack of training in the area, but I did like your drive to get out and away from Kahje, and your subsequent dedication to C-sec speaks well of your character. If I can confirm my intuition about your character, you are just the sort of person we want to have on staff here." She waited for Kolyat's response.
This time, he couldn't stop his inner eyelids from fluttering as he tried to figure out how she knew about his aborted assassination attempt. He'd looked in the C-sec files and had been unable to find any security footage of him and his father in the holding cell or of his assassination attempt. Finally he focused on Milar, who was still waiting patiently for him. "How?"
She tsked. "Come now, Officer Krios. Do you really think I'd reveal sources before I'm sure of your loyalty? Try again."
He tried the next logical question. "Why?" And what did she mean by the loyalty remark? He filed that away to investigate later.
"Much better," she nodded. "You know most drell prefer to stay on Kahje. It's rare to find one that travels off-world, and even more rare to find one who travels at his own behest. To find such a one employed by C-sec and with favorable comments in his service record after just a few months is a find more precious than an asteroid of eezo. It only remains to be seen the quality of your honor, young man. Tell me, do you pay much attention to politics?"
Recognizing a test, he tried to be diplomatic. "Only in general terms. Things seem fairly stable back on Kahje as far as relations between drell and hanar. The humans have been agitating things ever since the human-turian war, but when Shepard saved the Council, it seemed to smooth over a little bit, and now they have a Council seat of their own." He did his best to keep the bitterness out of his voice, thinking of the upstart race who'd beat the hanar, volus, drell and other established races out of a Council seat in just three decades.
Milar tapped her fused fingers on the table. "Is that all?"
Kolyat thought furiously. Was she looking for his knowledge of galactic politics, or those back on Kahje. Given her position, he rather thought it was the galactic level. "The Terminus systems are as stable as they ever are, which probably means they'll launch an attack on human colonies within a few months. I know Shepard has been asking the Council for resources to fight the Reaper threat she's been talking about, but the Council is resisting, especially the turian Councilor." He looked up at her, and she still seemed to be waiting for more. "Udina is working hard, but he seems to be alienating the other Councilors, or at least he's not making a lot of friends. He doesn't seem to care much for Shepard, either, from what I hear. Not that I can blame him." Kolyat unconsciously rubbed his jaw.
"You know Commander Shepard?" Milar asked.
"We met briefly. I thought you knew the whole story."
"I'd like to hear your side of it."
Kolyat kept his growl private. He wasn't fond of the idea of confessing his multiple failures to someone he barely knew.
Milar sensed his hesitation. "As you said, I know the story, but I'd like to hear your impressions of the Commander. Don't worry. Your words won't leave this room, and I can guarantee there are no listening devices."
Kolyat hadn't even thought about bugs, and the thought flashed through his mind that if he was going to work here, he had a lot to learn very fast. He dragged his thoughts back to Shepard. "She's effective," he admitted grudgingly. "I thought I just might be able to get out of that situation by myself, up until C-sec showed up. Then I thought either Bailey or Shepard would shoot me to save the turian. Instead, she found another way. She distracted me. Made me realize I'm not cut out to be an assassin, for which I'm grateful. Then she managed to work a deal with Bailey to keep me out of the court system. People seem to love her, or at least admire her. Myself included. I don't like her much, but I have to admire the way she can get things done. Plus she recruited my dad, and he's very selective about his employers now."
"I thought you hadn't had any contact with him in ten years?" she questioned him.
"I haven't, but we've been writing since we met a few months ago. He's been quite candid about what he's doing now. Well, aside from the operational security stuff."
"So you don't know where he's at?"
"Only when he's coming to the Citadel. He'll talk about places they've been, though. Shepard's cutting quite a path through the galaxy."
Milar made a noncommittal hum deep in her throat. "If you've decided that being an assassin is not for you, for which I commend your intelligence, how do you feel about working for C-sec?"
Kolyat shrugged. "For an involuntary job, it's not bad. Bailey's a decent guy. I'm learning how to fight with guns and hand to hand. It's a decent way to stay out of jail, plus it pays a salary."
"Is that all it is? Service to extirpate your crime?"
Kolyat thought. "I don't much like the jobs I've been given, but that's mostly because it's just herding drunks and vorcha. I'd like to find out more about some of the crimes C-sec investigates, but Bailey says I'm not ready yet. I figured it was because he knows he can give me the crap jobs and I can't complain."
"If this works out, I can guarantee that you'll be far busier investigating much more interesting things that drunks or sordid domestic disputes," Milar informed him with a tight smile. "Let us discuss the matter of your temporary assignment. My daughter has a similar situation to yours, and likewise, she must serve her penance for her crime, and I would prefer to keep it out of the public eye. I have tasked her with community service, helping the drala'fa in the lower wards. Given her position, she must have security when she travels there, but I'm loathe to dispatch our regular security force. This will be a good task for you. When you're not with Hama in the lower wards, I'll have some tasks for you here. Something to test that intelligence of yours."
There was nothing he could say to that except "Yes, Sera."
"You'll begin this morning, Officer. Hama is expected there in one hour. That will be all for now." Milar picked up a data pad, and Kolyat was obviously dismissed.
Hama was waiting for him when he exited Milar's office. "Mom said she was getting someone interesting to escort me to the lower wards. I have to admit, I'm glad it's you," she told him with a shy smile. The bravado from last night was gone. Whatever Milar had said to her had had an obvious effect on her attitude.
Kolyat held back his sigh. At least babysitting was a step up from herding drunks, and Hama was a darn sight better to look at than his current C-sec partner. Remembering his thoughts that he had a lot to learn about galactic diplomacy, he decided to start with Hama. Hopefully she'd be willing to give him insight into a world he'd barely paid attention to until thirty minutes ago.
"Let's go serve our unofficial sentence," he said as he gestured for her to proceed him to the car.
On the Normandy, Shepard was making her usual late night stop at Life Support, model kit in hand. This time, it was a quarian liveship. "Evening, Thane," she said with a warm smile.
"Siha," he greeted her just as warmly.
"Incredibly awesome leader?" she guessed.
He shook his head with a quirk of his lips. It had become a game between them. She promised not to look it up on the extranet, but to try and guess the meaning. "Getting closer, though," he informed her.
"I'll have to add some more superlatives next time, then." She smiled again when she saw the steaming mug of tea waiting for her at her customary seat.
"How many models do you have now?" he asked, taking his own seat.
She closed her eyes to think. "Six now. I've got two more in my closet waiting to be put together, then I think I may be running out of room. Not sure what I'll do when that happens. Maybe I can take up outer space basket weaving," she joked. From his puzzled look, she guessed it didn't translate well. "Never mind," she said. "Anyway, I have something I wanted to talk to you about tonight. I got an invitation." She pulled a data pad out of the model box and handed it over.
Thane read through it and looked up at her in surprise. "A hanar embassy party?"
She nodded as she blew to cool off her tea. "For myself and a plus one. It didn't mention you specifically, and I wondered if you had gotten your own invitation. I can't imagine that I'd bring anyone besides you unless you were already planning to attend."
He shook his head slowly. "No, I have received no such invitation. I sense several undercurrents at work here."
She laughed once. "No kidding. I think the turian Councilor would just as soon I disappear again, and Udina looks like he smells a vorcha every time I go into his office. The only reason I visit is to annoy him and say hi to Anderson. But the hanar...what political advantage do they see in inviting me?"
"I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but in Kolyat's latest message, he mentioned that he had been transferred temporarily to the hanar embassy security."
Shepard's raised an eyebrow at that news. "Really? Quite a plum position for a rookie with a questionable past. How did he swing that?"
Thane laughed. "As far as I can tell, simply because he is drell. However, he left out certain details I would have expected to hear, which makes me wonder what is not being said. I very much look forward to seeing him when we dock and can speak without being overheard."
Shepard sighed and sank into her seat. "Have I mentioned that I hate politics? Probably why I'm not very popular with the Council. So anyway, what about these mysterious currents you mentioned?"
"The hanar have long been seeking a seat on the Council, and it caused quite a disturbance when humans were granted one after the Battle of the Citadel. There were talks of trade embargoes and economic attacks, but the hanar economy is not big enough to make that a credible threat to the other races. At one point, the hanar were poised to dismiss the ambassadors on Kahje back to their homeworlds, but a last minute deal was brokered, the details of which were kept secret. I did not pay it much mind at the time, given my preoccupation with other matters."
Shepard fiddled with her model while she thought. "It's not much secret that I'm trying to build coalition support against the Reaper threat. I'm trying to beat some sense into someone, anyone, before we go against the Collectors." Unsaid was the implication that they might not survive that mission.
"Perhaps the hanar see a way to increase their prestige through you. Regardless of your lack of political savvy, your reputation is quite formidable outside of the Council. Even I had heard of the Savior of the Citadel and the Hero of the Skyllian Blitz, although to be honest, I was disappointed that you didn't breathe fire and shoot lasers from your eyes when we met." Only the slightest narrowing of his eyes gave away his amusement.
She laughed. "Well, my eyes do still glow red in combat. I can see where you would be confused. So, will you be my plus one?" At his confused look, she added, "My date for the night. The invitation was for myself plus one, and I can't see taking Zaeed or Grunt. I need someone to help me understand the hanar. I'm always afraid I'm going to offend one of them. I think I need etiquette lessons."
"I would be honored, siha," he answered. "Both to accompany you and to provide you insight into hanar customs beforehand. There is always another possibility. Perhaps it is simply because Kolyat requested your presence. From his conversation, you made quite an impression on him."
She looked skeptical. "I met him for all of five minutes, and that included me punching him."
"As I said, quite an impression. I doubt anyone else ever introduced themselves to him in quite the same way."
She gave him an impish grin. "I'll have to think of something better for the party, then."
"I thought you were trying to build support, not get thrown out," Thane teased. He found the piece she was looking for and handed it to her. If their hands brushed together overlong, neither one minded.